How an invitation from Syncing brand Mackenzie-Childs helped this retailer offer 2661 more products in only one day
April 22, 2024
We are pleased to announce that Olive Branch Gardens in Wallace, North Carolina, has joined Shop Local to grow their online business. Olive Branch Gardens is a florist and gift store with a limited selection of MacKenzie-Childs products on their primary Shopify website.
Olive Branch Gardens saved $2,740 and 4 weeks in labor on website product maintenance through the Shop Local platform. They have chosen Shop Local to expand their online store assortment and offer a gift registry program.
How an invitation from Syncing brand Mackenzie-Childs helped this retailer set up an online store in only one day
April 8, 2024
We are pleased to announce that FairyTales in Lombard, Illinois, has joined Shop Local to grow their online business. FairyTales is a family-owned store that offers home décor, unique gifts, collectibles, apparel, and more.
FairyTales saved $2,740 and 4 weeks in labor on website product maintenance through the Shop Local platform. They have chosen Shop Local to expand their online store assortment and offer a gift registry program.
FairyTales, Inc. is celebrating 30 years of ...
Read More
How Shop Local's software quickly populated the online store for a favorite Newton, PA retailer
March 29, 2024
We are pleased to announce that Home Tonic in historic Newton, Pennsylvania, has joined the Shop Local software platform to grow its online business. This home furnishings, accessories, gifts, and design shop is conveniently located between New York City and Philadelphia. They are a favorite of Bucks County residents and visitors.
Home Tonic saved $4,120 and 6 Weeks in labor on website product maintenance through the Shop Local platform. They have chosen Shop Local to expand their online ...
Read More
Jim Shreve made Baccarat hip. Now, he and his longtime partner, Mark Brashear, along with Sally Burnside, the former Baccarat sales V.P., intend to do the same for DeVine Corp., the 32-year-old distributor of elite European brands. You're invited to the opening!
................................
Congrats to you all. This is very exciting. Tim, we’ve known each other since before you started DeVine Corp., 32 years ago. You’ve been looking for the right opportunity to retire. TIM ...
Read More
How Shop Local's software quickly populated the online Store for a legendary New Orleans retailer
March 11, 2024
We are pleased to announce that Adler’s, a jewelry and gift store in New Orleans, Louisiana, has joined the Shop Local software platform to grow its online business. Adler’s saved $44,907 and 64 weeks in labor on website product maintenance through the Shop Local platform. They have chosen Shop Local to revamp the Gift Registry service they have maintained since their early days.
For over 100 years, Adler's has held its position as the leading jeweler in New Orleans and the Gulf ...
Read More
How Shop Local’s software helps an Austin, Texas institution renew its Registry program and see immediate results.
March 1, 2024
We are pleased to announce that Breed & Co., a retail store in Austin, Texas, has joined the Shop Local software platform to grow its online business. Breed & Co. made the decision to switch from their previous registry provider and recreate their registry program using Shop Local. Since revamping their registry program 3 weeks ago, Breed & Co. has saved $37,435 and 53 weeks in labor on website product maintenance through the Shop Local platform.
Shop Local’s software helps an indie store in Mer Rouge, Louisiana save 2 weeks in labor by quickly populating 1,748 items in their online Store.
February 20, 2024
We are pleased to announce that Cotton Bale Market, a retail store in Mer Rouge, Louisiana has chosen the Shop Local software platform to grow its online business.
Cotton Bale Market is a favorite local Home Store and Gift Shop. They offer a wide variety of items for decorating, gift giving, and more. Cotton Bale Market also offers a complete wedding and shower gift registry service that simplifies gift-giving for any special occasion.
By joining Shop Local, the store instantly ...
Read More
How Shop Local’s software helps an indie store in Natchitoches, Louisiana save $11,797 and 17 weeks in labor on website product maintenance.
February 15, 2024
We are pleased to announce that Brick and Row Merci Beaucoup, a retail store in Natchitoches, Louisiana has chosen the Shop Local software platform to grow its online business.
Brick and Row Merci Beaucoup is an interior décor and gift store offering a mix of traditional and non-traditional design styles. Located in the building where Natchitoches’ Historic Hotel once was, customers visit Brick and Row Merci Beaucoup to find exclusive gifts, seasonal items, and beautiful ...
Read More
How Shop Local’s software helps an indie store in Kentucky immediately open an online store and registry service.
January 18, 2024
We are pleased to announce that The Persnickety Pig, a retail store in Cadiz, Kentucky, has chosen the Shop Local software platform to grow its online business.
The Persnickety Pig is home to eclectic gifts, antiquities, gourmet foods, and more. They offer a comprehensive wedding and shower gift registry service that takes the stress out of gift-giving for any special occasion.
By joining Shop Local, the store instantly receives great benefits:
Today’s Times contains a Staples ad that speaks to the value humans provide in operating a business. The ad pushes back against software- and computer-automated service.
While we run a software platform, we agree with Staples. Clients that sign up for a Shop Local account get a free coaching call by a real person based here in the United States. Thereafter, our coaching staff uses one-on-one training, including telephone calls and Zoom video meetings, to help them get the best ...
Read More
I don’t own a car, yet I have a strange desire to read Dan Neil's car column each weekend in The Wall St. Journal. Why would someone who doesn’t own a car, won’t be buying one soon, and hasn’t owned one in 25 years read a car column? It's a mix of enjoying the design and technology of automobiles, wanting to know what Dwayne Johnson may be buying next, loving Dan’s witty writing style, and, confession, simply being 13-years old at heart. Cars are ...
Read More
The next book our Bridge team may read is John List’s book The Voltage Effect. List, who is a behavioral economist at the University of Chicago, shares a variety of suggestions to grow a business. He warns us about false positives, such as what the “Just Say No” drug campaign experienced. He suggests we look for businesses with scalable ingredients. (People are not scalable, but good news for Bridge: software is!)
I'd add to List's advice this simple maxim: show ...
Read More
In the past, we’ve used spin classes and gyms as inspiration for Bridge. We see them as metaphors for helping retail business owners. The founders of SoulCycle, Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, must have been eavesdropping on us: they are expanding their spinning approach to another sphere. The Times reports they have started Peoplehood, a business that seeks to help people via self-help (group-help?) sessions. It’s SoulCycle for the soul&...
Read More
In Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0, which the Bridge team is currently reading, the author Jim Collins confesses that he missed a key ingredient 25 years ago when he wrote the first edition. He states that he now realizes the most important part of achieving a great company is: getting the right people 'on the bus.’ I agree. Fourteen and a half years ago (long before I opened this book), I was lucky enough to pick up the right ‘passenger:' Moshe replied to my job posting (...
Read More
When I flew home yesterday from Charleston, while most people were seeking relief from their sunburns and reminiscing about their vacations, I was delving into The Wall St. Journal’s profile on Tracy Britt Cool, an ex- Berkshire Hathaway star. Mrs. Cool’s new company Kanbrick invests in businesses with $10m - $50m in revenue. What does Mrs. Cool look for when investing in a company? People and moats.
At Bridge, we’re reading Jim Collins’ Beyond ...
Read More
At the Bridge ‘office’ (which stretches from Seattle to Brooklyn), we’re currently reading Jim Collin’s book Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0. We’re reading the book together because it helps us learn insights into working together and running the best company we can. On page 275, Mr. Collins shares an anecdote about a group of workers at an airplane manufacturing facility during World War II. The workers found inspiration from meeting the crew that flew the planes they ...
Read More
In a recent NY Times article about working out, the author Christie Aschwanden gives readers tips on how to make working out more enjoyable. (Read the article: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/well/move/habits-motivation-exercise.html). In reading this, I saw many parallels between working out and helping our stores get their websites ‘in shape.’ The author encourages readers to not think of working out as exercise and instead think of it as "hanging out with friends...
Read More
Last week, a gift shop in Alabama signed up for Bridge and had a coaching call with Jordyn, our retailer coach. Within one day, the retailer had a Bridge Store offering 15k products and a full suite of online services to serve its customers. (See the store's Bridge account here: https://shealeighs.bridgecatalog.com)
I’m even amazed at what our software can do! Our software requires a lot of parts to come together: our tech team codes the software, our coaches call the stores...
Read More
When I was speaking with the team this week, I mentioned author Dan Roam’s strategy for convincing people to change their ways. He suggested leading with data (i.e. facts), which leads to a change in one’s thinking and beliefs, which will then change one’s actions—aka they will change their website to use Bridge.
Yet, we can’t "lead" with too many facts, because as the authors of the book Rethink point out, that is like ...
Read More